1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a device for recording information such as images and characters on a card or other recording medium. More particularly, this invention relates to a recording device having technically ingenious arrangement of several processing means including a printer, thus to make the device compact and improve the efficiency of processing and attain high degrees of freedom of design.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There have been widely used various types of card printers for printing or recording information such as images and characters on a recording card base of plastic to produce a credit card, license card, IC card and so on.
Usually, the recording device of this kind is composed of a card supplying means including a card stacker for storing one or more blank cards, a recording means such as a thermal printer, and a card discharging means for sending out a finished card. Such processing means are generally arranged along one card transfer path.
The recording part includes not only a printer, but also a magnetic encoder for magnetically recording information on the card and a coating means for coating a recording surface of the card with a protective film or a hologram film in order for protecting the recording surface and preventing falsification of the card. These components constituting the recording part are placed almost on the straight card transfer path.
Miniaturization of the recording device may be materialized by downsizing each component of the recording part and narrowing the space between the respective components. Specifically, to make the recording device compact, the recording part in the recording device may possibly be arranged close to the card stacker of the card supply part. That is to say, the card transfer path between the respective components of the recording device is generally designed to be short and straight so as to send the card from the card stacker of the card supply part to the printer in the recording part through the shortest distance even though there is disposed a supplementary implement such as a card cleaner between the card supply part and the recording part.
However, the printer generally having an ink ribbon cartridge and printing head, is large as always in volume and occupies much space. Also, the card supply part is intended to be large so as to store the blank cards as much as possible. Thus, the conventional recording device of this type was basically limited to be reduced in size because downsizing of the ink ribbon cartridge and the card stacker causes inconvenience of using the device with reduced efficiency.
Consequently, since the conventional card printer calls for a relatively long horizontal length for arranging the recording part and the card supply part on the straight card transfer path, the printer becomes, of necessity, large in its entire length and poor in degrees of freedom of design, and thus, it could not sufficiently be reduced in size.
Japanese Patent Application Publication HEI 9-131944(A) discloses one possible way for preventing the card printer from being long. In this prior art card printer disclosed in the publication, the card transferring arrangement is formed of upper and lower paths extending horizontally in parallel, a card printer placed on the upper path, a magnetic encoder placed on the lower path, and a card transferring part including a pair of card turning means working cooperatively for transferring a card between the upper and lower paths.
However, the aforementioned prior art card printer may possibly be short in horizontal length, but cannot still be reduced in volume. Besides, the card moving length over which the card is transferred from the card supply part or printer on the upper path to the magnetic encoder on the lower path becomes longer, consequently to decrease the efficiency of processing.
Thus, there has been none of the compact card producing devices capable of processing the information card while transferring the card with high efficiency.
Also in Japanese Patent Application Publications HEI 10-71648(A), HEI 11-10734(A) and HEI 11-268457(A), there are disclosed devices for coating the recording face of a card with a protective film. These devices are all provided with a secondary card transfer path in addition to a main card transfer path, and, therefore, bulky in size, awkward to handle, and low in efficiency of transferring the card.
An object of the present invention is to provide a recording device for information cards or other recording medium, which is made compact by rationally arranging a card recording means, coating means, card transferring mechanism and other processing means without affecting the performance of processing the card.
Another object of the invention is to provide a device capable of recording various information on both sides of a card-like recording medium and being stably operated with simple driving and controlling systems.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a recording device for information cards, which has technically ingenious arrangement of the constituents including a card supplying means, one or more recording means such as a printer for printing information on the card and a magnetic encoder, card transferring mechanism, a controller and other processing mechanisms such as a coating means for coating the card with a protective film or a hologram film.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a versatile recording device capable of being easily joined to a secondary processing device.
To attain the object described above according to this invention, there is provided a recording device for cards, comprising a first transfer path on which a card supplying means is placed, second and third transfer paths intersecting with the first transfer path at one or more intersection points, at least one card turning means placed at the intersection point, and first and second processing means placed on the second and third transfer paths.
Each of the first, second and third transfer paths may made straight. These transfer paths may intersect at one intersection point so as to extend radially from the intersection point. In this case, only one card turning means may be disposed at the intersection point so as to transfer the card among the first, second and third transfer paths.
The section and third transfer paths may intersect at different points with the first transfer path. In the case of providing three card transfer paths intersecting at the different points, two card turning means are placed one at each intersection point. The second and third transfer paths may each intersect at right angles or different angles.
The card supplying means is placed at one end of the first transfer path, and a card discharging means may be placed at the other end of the first transfer path or on the other transfer paths.
The transfer paths may be incorporated in one casing or separate casings. By separately placing the first and second transfer paths and the third transfer path in the separate casings, a first unit including the second transfer path with the first processing means alone can be used independently of a second unit including the third transfer path with the second processing means. That is, in the case where the first processing means in the first unit has a function of printing information on the card, the first unit independent of the second unit can be used as a card printer. In the case where the second processing means in the second unit functions as a coating device for coating the card with a protective film, the second unit independent of the first unit can be attached to another card printer.
The structure of radiating the first, second and third transfer paths makes it possible to shorten the distances from the card turning means to the card supply part and the card discharge part, thus to make the recording device compact.
The recording device may further be provided with a fourth transfer path extending radially from the intersection point of the first and second transfer paths, on which a third processing means is disposed. The first and third processing means each may be a printer for printing characters and/or images on the card, a magnetic encoder for magnetically recording information on the card, or an IC writer. The card discharging means may be placed at one end of the first transfer path or the fourth transfer path.
There may further be disposed a fifth transfer path intersecting the first transfer path, on which a fourth processing means such as a different type of printer. The second, third and fifth processing means may be formed respectively in separate casings capable of being freely connected with one another.
Other and further objects of this invention will become obvious upon an understanding of the illustrative embodiments about to be described or will be indicated in the appended claims, and various advantages not referred to herein will occur to one skilled in the art upon employment of the invention in practice.